Lipophilic Tracers

Exogenous staining

Crystal and paste formulations for tissue staining

Will stain fixed tissue sections

Anterograde and retrograde transport

Carbocyanine dyes, such as DiI and its derivatives, label cell membranes without appreciably affecting cell viability and can be used for long-term studies. The dyes uniformly label neurons via lateral diffusion in the plasma membrane, which is supplemented by active dye transport processes in living tissues.

Crystal and paste preparations provide convenient options for loading tissues. Lipophilic tracers can be used to trace neuronal projections in fixed tissue sections.

Axons in the dorsonasal retina of a zebrafish embryo labeled with DiI, and nuclei counterstained with SYTOX® Green nucleic acid stain.